City of Scotts Valley Government News

May is National Bicycle Safety Month, and Scotts Valley Police Department is urging everyone to prioritize bicyclist safety as warmer weather brings more riders onto the roads.

Simmering tensions between the City of Scotts Valley and youth sports leagues over proposed fees hikes boiled over during the April 2 regularly scheduled Council meeting when a girls softball coach teared-up providing public comment.

As April marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Scotts Valley Police Department is emphasizing the crucial need for drivers to remain focused and vigilant on the road.

Scotts Valley’s future isn’t something that just happens—we build it with the choices we make today. That’s why city leadership—including the Council, department heads and key community stakeholders—came together in February for a two-day Strategic Planning Workshop to map out priorities for the next two years.

Planning for the two-day Scotts Valley Art, Wine & Beer Festival, scheduled for Aug. 16-17, was about to be derailed when discussions between the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City got back on track with the help of Councilmember Steve Clark, who was elected to his first term in November.

As a small city operating with only 6.5% of its residents’ property tax revenue, Scotts Valley faces significant financial challenges in providing essential services. However, thanks to the support of our community, we are moving forward with renewed optimism.

During the post-pandemic rebound, and with the addition of Target, money flooded back into municipal coffers. However, in recent months, the City of Scotts Valley has watched as its sales tax revenue declined somewhat.

Every year, community organizations appear before Scotts Valley to share what they’ve been doing to bolster the social health of the local landscape and ask for a grant from the City toward their efforts.

As we step into 2025, we must acknowledge the unprecedented events that recently tested our community's resilience. Our long-held scientific belief that tornadoes do not happen in the Santa Cruz Mountains was dispelled. A week later, we saw historic storms destroy a county landmark that had withstood prior storms for over a century.

As of mid-December, the City of Scotts Valley had caught up on its HR backlog and was fully staffed. This followed years of headaches in the police department and Public Works, as employees left for greener pastures elsewhere.

Four housing projects in Scotts Valley could provide more than 500 new homes if they come to fruition.

They didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter, but when it came down to updating their secondary residence policy, Scotts Valley City Council opted to allow larger accessory dwelling units than required to incentivize building these further away from the property line than allowed.

After first-place finisher Donna Lind, the incumbent for Scotts Valley City Council, local voters selected Steve Clark—a retired law enforcer, known for volunteering around town—and Krista Jett—a relatively-young nurse, who’s also a mother—for the dias.

Scotts Valley City Council has taken the next step in addressing a $700,000 deficit in recreation funding by approving new facility rental and special-event fees.

Unlike some of its neighbor municipalities on the Silicon Valley side of the hill, like Monte Sereno and Los Gatos—which canceled their council elections when no more hopefuls put their name in the ring than the number of seats available—Scotts Valley has seen an incredible burst of enthusiasm this year, as seven people vie for three seats (with Councilmember Donna Lind the only incumbent).

There are three Scotts Valley City Council seats up for grabs this election, and Donna Lind, a retired Scotts Valley Police Department sergeant, is the only sitting member seeking another term. She’s formed a slate with food industry salesman Corky Roberson and retired Santa Cruz Police Department deputy chief Steve Clark, in hopes of edging out nurse Krista Jett, IT contractor John Lewis, UCSC student Dustin Lopez and mobile app founder Mercedes Molloy.

A developer that wants to build a combination storage-and-office building at 125 Bethany Dr. at the northern end of Scotts Valley has a little more work to do to get the project over the finish line.

Personnel from various agencies within Scotts Valley gathered Sept. 19 at the city’s Performing Arts Center to hear the annual “State of the City” address.

The 2024 Scotts Valley State of the City takes place Thursday, Sept. 19, from 4-6:15pm at the new Scotts Valley Cultural and Performing Arts Center, next to the public library on Kings Village Road.

Scotts Valley threw its weight behind a proposal for a 100% affordable housing project for 4444 Scotts Valley Drive, at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting Sept. 4.

After nearly 30 years, Scotts Valley has a parks master plan. Now the city needs to figure out how to fund the improvements.